June 06, 2012

Lawrence Vickers has ants in his pants -- literally -- at practice

About halfway through Wednesday’s practice, fullback Lawrence Vickers ran off the field with what appeared to be a groin injury the way he was moving. Instead of a pulled muscle, Vickers had ants in his pants.

“I was doing the play,” Vickers said. “I was running, and I was blocking someone. Then I walk off, and I’m like ‘oh snap.’ And I pulled my pants down to see, and I saw ants.”

Vickers, who is allergic to ants, washed down and took Benadryl before returning to practice.

“As soon as I got bit, I was like ‘no,’ because I didn’t want to freak out,” said Vickers, who had teammates laughing at him after they knew what happened. “I wanted to pull my pants down and run inside, but I couldn’t do that.”

Vickers had a similar scare about four months ago. He was working out by himself, stretching in a grassy area when he felt a few bites. His neck started swelling, and he had to find medicine quickly.

“I was weezing, and I had to drive myself to a CVS to get some medicine,” said Vickers, who carries an medicated Epipen shot for emergencies.

Vickers, who signed with the Cowboys as a free agent after being released by the Texans this off-season, said he is pleased with the team’s running corps through eight OTAs.

“Things are going great. I’m enjoying being here,” said Vickers, who played five years for Cleveland before playing for Houston last year. “Man, I’m enjoying my teammates. This is a good work environment, and people love their football down here.”

Vickers played in 14 games last year with Houston, leading the way for Arian Foster, who rushed for 1,224 yards and 10 TDs. The Cowboys signed Vickers to a two-year contract.

"We like him," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "He's an experienced player. He brings some attitude. It's an important position to have a player there who is physical and who does bring some attitude to your football team. I think he's shown that throughout his career, and we're excited to have him on board. He's learning what we're trying to do. He's learning how we practice, and he's going a really good job of getting himself acclimated."